


Yahoo Answers Can't Help You This Time

by Nooneisgonnashipmyships



Series: Our Lives are a Space Soap Opera [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Aged-Up Lance (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Although it's not explicitly mentioned, Angst, Angst and Feels, Deception, Established Lance/Shiro (Voltron), False Identity, Future Lance/Lotor/Shiro (Voltron), Good Lotor (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Lance isn't sure, Lance/Lotor Child, Langst, M/M, Multi, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Original Character(s), Original Child Character(s) - Freeform, Parent Lance (Voltron), Past Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Past Lance/Lotor (Voltron), Past Relationship(s), Post-Season/Series 04, Protective Lance, Protective Lotor, Single Parent Lance (Voltron), Soft Lance/Lotor (Voltron), Soft Lotor (Voltron), Supportive Shiro (Voltron), for a time, in the past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:47:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29524536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nooneisgonnashipmyships/pseuds/Nooneisgonnashipmyships
Summary: A long time ago, Lance had to say goodbye to the love of his life, leaving him to take care of their child alone. It was heartbreaking at first, but eventually, he managed to move on. He made a life for himself, and found new love.And then Voltron happened, and suddenly Lance had to juggle ending a 10,000 year war and looking after a four-year-old.Turns out, that wasn't even the worst part. After a harrowing battle at Naxzela, Lance hears the one voice he never thought he would hear again, in the worst possible context...
Relationships: Lance/Lotor (Voltron), Lance/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: Our Lives are a Space Soap Opera [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2178060
Comments: 10
Kudos: 90





	Yahoo Answers Can't Help You This Time

**Author's Note:**

> Okay this fic is like, a smaller segment, that takes place in a larger story based off of one of the fic prompts by shancelot-is-a-thing.tumblr.com but I can't find the original post. If/When I continue the story, it will be part of a series of seperate fics like this one. I just did this part first because I had the most solid idea of how I wanted this scene in particular to go. The endgame for the story is for Lance, Shiro, and Lotor to end up in a poly relationship with each other.
> 
> I tried to make it clear during the story, but to make it easier, I'll say the gist of the story here.
> 
> In this AU, Lance is around the same age as Shiro. For reasons, when in school, Lance was unable to become a fighter pilot and graduated as a Cargo pilot. He was rather depressed about this for a while, but got distracted by an alien ship crash landing not far from his house (he lives alone in the desert near the Garrison). As you've probably guessed, the alien was Lotor, and the two shared a Krolia/Keith's dad situation, although Lotor kept his real name a secret and never told Lance about the Galra empire. Lance and Lotor spent a couple of years together, even having a baby together named Rodrigo. Unfortunately, Galra soldiers came looking for Lotor. While he was able to deal with them swiftly, he realised that more would come, so he took the least damaged of the ships and flew back to the empire, to keep Lance and Rodrigo safe. 
> 
> Afterwards, Lance decided to become a teacher in the Garrison faculty so that he would be closer to home and be able to look after Rodrigo (previously, Lotor was acting as a stay-at-home parent). While doing that, Lance ended up befriending Shiro and eventually the two got together. They had a pretty good relationship, right up until Kerboros mission was said to have failed. Lance was understandably devastated.
> 
> But anyway, how did Lance still become a part of Voltron? Well, due to certain circumstances, Rodrigo had to come in with Lance the day that Shiro returned. Lance, as a teacher, was doing final checks to make sure no one was out after dark, which is how he found Hunk and Pidge on the roof (in this timeline, Pidge dragged Hunk into helping her due to his tech knowledge, but hadn't let him in all the whole story). Lance, despite teaching a different course, was popular with the students everywhere, Pidge and Hunk knew Lance quite well. 
> 
> When Shiro crashed, none of them knew for sure what it was, but Pidge (and Hunk dragged behind) were already off, so Lance decided to chase after them to make sure they didn't get hurt, or caught and expelled. That's when the the trio saw Keith. Lance knew Keith as his boyfriend's honourary brother, and while they didn't easily get along, Lance tried to stay in his life despite Keith pushing him away, and eventually getting expelled. So because of his concern for Keith Lance went in as well (But not before giving the still-sleeping Rodrigo to Hunk to babysit).
> 
> Keith and Lance both ended up finding Shiro, and despite their difficulties with each other, the two agreed to team up and get Shiro out of there. Everything afterwards came out more or less the same, but some differences in character dynamics. 
> 
> Oh yeah, and ABO dynamics are still a thing in all this, but it's not very explicit here. Lance is an Omega, Lotor is Alpha, and Shiro is a beta (i think, I'm still deciding).
> 
> Anyway, sorry for all that info dumping. Hope you like the story!

Lance had been silent since Prince Lotor made his announcement about joining forces with the coalition. Wait, scratch that, he gave Keith a tongue-lashing after hearing about his kamikaze act, as did everyone else before hugging the life out of the little blade, but other than that, Lance hadn't said a word. 

_Was that really him? That was_ his _voice, wasn't it?_

The voice he hadn't heard in years, that Lance thought he would never hear again.

_But this is Prince Lotor, a pain in the butt in his own right, but also the son of Zarkon, the biggest, baddest evil the universe had ever known. There is no way he could be Avox._

But Avox was always vague about his life in space. That his planet had been in at war for as long as he could remember. That his parents were either dead or he would prefer them dead. Lance had always tried to respect his privacy; if the nightmares were anything to go by, Avox seemed better off trying to forget. 

When Lance was swept away by the Blue Lion, met the two last Alteans, and learned about the war, it seemed to all add up. Avox was probably one of the many worlds that had been suffering under the Galra. Yeah, sure, it would have been nice if he had warned Lance of the impending threat, but maybe he didn't want to freak him out. After all, it was shocking enough to find out aliens exist, nevermind finding one crash-landed near his house, in a super-techy fighter jet. Lance's time in space-proper had shown him how helpless Earth would be if the Galra decided to invade, and they probably haven't already because the planet just wasn't valuable enough in the grand scheme of the universe. Maybe that's why Avox thought it would be safe, thinking they would probably never come in Lance's, or their son's, lifetime.

_But there aren't that many purple aliens out there, are there? Aside from the Galra obviously. Sure, Avox's armour and ship seem different enough, but they're too similar for comfort._

But this is the father of Lance's child for Kaltenecker's sake! The man that made him feel more than "just a cargo pilot". The man he once wanted to spend the rest of his life with, before more soldiers came and threatened their little family. 

_Now_ their _ships looked like Galra ships, didn't they?_

...

He needed to see for himself. 

While the other paladins were busy discussing what to do next with the coalition leaders, Lance quietly walked out of the room. Shiro was the only one to take attention to this, but decided to leave the other be, and continued talking to the others. 

////

Lance hadn't gotten a good look at the Prince when he was walked off his ship by Allura and Shiro, and into the elaborate dungeon, Lance hadn't even known existed. Granted, the Castle was so big that none of the Paladins has really seen all of it, which was impressive, especially considering how much Rodrigo liked to explore the place.

Rodrigo, his little Tiger, for the millionth time, Lance was so thankful that they dropped him off at that Olkari daycare centre before the battle began. That battle was too close for comfort. 

Besides, Lance still needed to get his head on straight. He didn't know if he could handle an excitable four-year-old as well as the revelation that Avox was-

_No! I don't know for sure, it's not like the Lotor had said anything._

But Lance had stayed at the back of the crowd, hadn't even taken his helmet off. If the Prince really did know him, then he wouldn't have been able to notice. Just like Lance had stayed further enough away to not get an exact look at him.

But those long silver locks haunted him. They looked so much like the ones he spent hours braiding, playing with.

Lance had to know. He had to be sure. 

That thought kept him motivated as he went down that long elevator towards Lotor's cell. Lance eyed the growing shape of the man that had been toying with Voltron for the past few phoebs. Despite that title, this was the first time any of them had seen the Prince in-person. Heck, Lance had never even heard his voice before this incident, as both he and Allura were still stuck in the Castle when Lotor made his formal introduction to the other Paladins. 

_If I had heard him back then, would it have changed anything now?_

Before Lance could spiral into more what-ifs, the elevator doors opened. All that was left between him and the truth was a torturously too-long and yet, too-short walk to the Castle's newest prisoner. His heart was pumping so loudly the entire way, Lance couldn't even hear his own thoughts to come up with a decent opening question. 

As soon as he was within earshot, Prince turned around to look at him, and...

_Quiznack, that really is you._

That was _his_ Avox. Rodrigo's father. The one he never thought he'd see again. The one that _supposedly_ left for their safety of Lance and their son. 

Avox looked exactly like he remembered him; those deep blue eyes that reminded him of the night sky; the sharp look in his eye that would become so warm when they looked at Lance or their baby, the beautiful but still strong features that he could already see a bit of in Rodrigo. His eyes started to sting.

"So you have finally decided to begin the interrogation? That is fine. I want my father taken down as much as you do. I will gladly offer information for the rebellion."

Lance was startled out of his thoughts. That voice, the Prince spoke, it was all so similar yet so foreign. Of course, Lance's face was still mostly covered, so the other was speaking professionally, not like a lover. 

Lotor cocked his head "Are you surprised? I meant what I said. It would benefit all of us if we worked together. We..."

The Prince continued to speak, something he must have mentally practised for when Voltron would finally come down to his cell. Lance clenched his teeth. Whether or not Lotor's intentions are genuine didn't matter at this moment. No, he was not going to be fed all this _baloney_ like some chump, from a guy who once told him he would give Lance all the stars in the universe if he could. 

Slowly, so that he could analyse his ex's expressions, he finally lifted the helmet off his head. 

The more Lance showed the more Lotor's behaviour changed. First, there was only a confused squint when the chin was revealed, but the Prince kept talking. By Lance's nose and eyes, Lotor slowed down, his expression more obvious. When Lance's face was fully revealed, Lotor was silent, with an expression that suggested he had seen a ghost. 

"Lance?" No more was that confident _"My name's Prince Lotor and I know exactly what I'm doing."_ Only a wide-eyed man fixated on the figure in front of him.

_Guess you didn't plan for this, huh?_

"Avox." Lance said neutrally. Or at least he tried to be neutral, it came out more _biting_ than he could help. 

Lotor flinched at the false name, the false persona, the false _life_. 

"Why are you here? How did you get here?" The earlier confidence was evaporating, now he looked as confused and desperate as Lance felt.

"I'm a paladin, isn't that obvious?" he pointed at the "V" shape on his chest with a thumb.

"And I think I should be asking the questions here Avox, or should I call you," he took an over-the-top, sweeping bow. "Prince Lotor, Emperor Pro-tem." 

"That..." Lotor let out a breath, probably trying to gather himself. "I had crash-landed in barely-charted space, I didn't know who you were, or if I could trust you. The fake name was just in case you knew more than you were letting on." 

"You trusted me enough to have your child!" Lance snapped. "Then again, Rorro wasn't even a year-old when you left, so it's not like you had to think about him for long."

"You two meant _everything_ to me!" Lotor exclaimed, the volume startling Lance. "I left to keep you safe. I believe you have gathered how dangerous my lifestyle truly is." He made a sweeping gesture with his head to- well, could have been concerning anything that had happened in the past couple of movements, if Matt's information network is to be believed. 

"I never wanted to bring you into this life. I never- wait." A frantic look overcame him. "Where is Rodrigo now?"

"He is safe." Lance wondered if he should tell Lotor more. He knows that the Prince was checked thoroughly for any bugs or weapons before entering the Castle, so it's not like Zarkon's going to come marching down to collect his grandson.

"He is in space." Lotor said it like a fact he was just learning, rather than a question. _Quiznack._ Lance had forgotten how good _Avo_ \- Lotor had become in reading his expressions. 

Despite already confirming it, all the little reminders that Avox and Prince Lotor were one and the same weighed heavy on his heart.

" _Have you lost your mind?!_ " Lotor slammed his handcuffed fists against the glass. "He was safe on Earth! You both were!" Slowly, he slid his hands down as he tried to steady his breathing. 

"There wasn't much of a choice!" Lance snapped. "He was already with me when Shiro landed,-"

"Shiro? Wha-"

"-and then we found the Blue Lion and we were off into a-"

"The Blue Lion was on Earth all alo-"

"-wormhole being chased by _your people_!"

Despite all the exercise the Voltron paladins do on the regular, Lance found himself out of breath after his tirade. He never lost his eye contact with Lotor though. He was not going to back down from him. 

"The Champion?" Lotor began, and, huh, why did he start there?

"His name is Shiro. And yeah, he's from Earth too. He's my..." And Lance paused because he didn't know what to say.

Scratch that, he did know, but he wasn't sure how to say it to Lotor. Shiro was undoubtedly his mate, except without the bonding bites, but they both agreed it was too early for that. Yeah, when Avo-Lotor left, he said not to wait for him and that he should find someone that made Lance happy. And even with that in mind, Lance only started dating Shiro a bit over a year after Lotor left, partly because suddenly becoming a single-parent was hard work. Also, Lance had to move from 'cargo pilot' to 'teacher's aide in the cargo pilot course' to work closer to home. Sure, he and Shiro struck a friendship early on, but Shiro was also dealing with his own baggage, such as the break up with Adam and his health issues. Not that Lance needed to justify any of his dating choices to Lotor! The man who gave his blessing, but also was a cold-blooded liar! But it's weird talking about your current beau to your old one, _especially_ in this mess of a situation. What's the dating rule for... oh Lance wouldn't even know where to start. 

"The Champion is your mate." Lotor said slowly. Evidently, Lance took too long to decide what to do.

"His name is Shiro and that's what you're gonna call him." Because there is no way, he will let Lotor remind Shiro of his painful past. The first one, anyway. Or is that the second one, because Shiro's life on Earth wasn't always sunshine and rainbows... 

"Tell me," Lotor interrupted his thoughts, _again_ , that Quiznacker. "Does... Shiro treat you well? How is he with Rodrigo?" 

And a part of Lance wants to say it's jealousy. Wants to give all the negative traits he can name to Lotor now that he has wronged him. But he sounded so sincere. Lance knows if their situations were reversed, he'd want to know if Rodrigo was safe with this stranger partner. 

He'd want to know if Lotor was safe too if Lance was honest.

"He and Rorro get along great." He assured. "Shiro's... a really good guy." He's kind, caring, passionate about his goals and space in general. Lance and Shiro had so many dates where they would just talk and watch the stars. Even though Lance felt the other had the dream job, Shiro always paid attention when Lance would talk about his day and what he's doing. 

_"Don't say "just" a cargo pilot." Shiro gently scolded. "So much of what the Garrison does wouldn't be possible without cargo pilots. And even if that weren't the case, you shouldn't talk yourself down like that. You wouldn't let anyone else talk about themselves like that. So why are you the exception?"_

There was no need for Lotor to know all those details though. The real important thing was...

"I love him."

Lotor... seemed to search for something in Lance's eyes. Maybe to look for a lie or doubt? Maybe there was something about Shiro's time as the Champion that he's worried about? Lance let Lotor look, he knew he had nothing to hide, might as well prove it now. 

"Well," Lotor had seemingly come to his conclusion. "I can at least trust that he will be able to _physically_ protect the two of you."

"I'd hope you'd be able to trust a bit more than that." Lance huffed. "Considering I've never once lied to you and you..." He let the rest go unsaid. 

"As I said before, initially, I could not trust you," Lotor said through gritted teeth. "I kept using the name because, at first, I assumed it would not be long before I would be able to repair my ship. And for a time, we only had a platonic relationship." 

"And when we got together?" Lance put all the attitude he could muster into crossing his arms. That's what Mama would do with Papa when she was mad with him, and he was always quick to crumble afterwards.

"I..." Lotor hesitated. Looking back, even as Avox, the alien always had a way with words, always an answer never stuttered or paused unless it was for dramatic effect. This conversation must really be throwing him through the wringer. 

"I do not like being me Lance." he admitted.

Lance felt his eyebrows rise to the top of his forehead, but forced them back into what he hoped was a stern expression.

"Zarkon... is a monster. The universe at large knows this firsthand. Even the Galra suffer under his reign, not that they realise because they do not know any better." He took his time as if he was mentally weighing the pros and cons of every word he uttered. "Knowing all that, do you think he will turn around and suddenly become a loving child to his half-breed son? Furthermore, do you believe that the many victims of my father's actions, would show any kindness to the son of such a creature?"

Considering some of the Coalition leaders' suggestions about what to do with Lotor, definitely not.

"I will spare you the grizzly details but, suffice it to say, my life has been far from easy.” The Prince went on. “Then I came to Earth, and while I did not realise it at the time," he paused and, had this look where, it was sort of pained, and yet, had a sense of fondness. Lance never thought before that there could be an expression that perfectly encompassed bittersweetness, but there it was.

"Lance, that crash... meeting you, it gave me one of the happiest times of my life." Lance felt his heart seize up at the admission. "You never saw me as a monster, which is impressive considering I was the first alien you had ever met." Lotor huffed a laugh. "When we first met, you did your best to mend my wounds despite our biological differences. Even when we got along the least, or as you put it, when I was being "the worst roommate ever"," He made air quotes with his still-handcuffed hands, something that Lance taught him. "You still helped me the best you could."

"There were aspects of my old life that I did miss, I never made that up in front of you." Lance recalled the many, sombre nights he would find "Avox" looking longingly at the stars, and, having no possible words that could comfort him, cuddling the taller alien until later, when said alien carried him to bed. 

"But the empire, my enemies, they would never come to Earth. Worst case if a ship was scrapped for resources they might go to one of the outer moons or asteroids at the edge of your solar system, but your planet, _our_ home together, would be safe." The face that Lotor showed in front of him now was one of nostalgia, of fondness, of soft affection.

"I saw it as a chance to be reborn. Prince Lotor died somewhere in the evergrowing expanse of space. Avox was allowed to make a life for himself with one of the most compassionate individuals in the universe." Lotor's expression saddened. "Of course, when those soldiers came looking for me, I realised I had been too optimistic. I was the connection between humans and the war."

Lotor stopped closer to Lance. For a moment, the latter forgot about the cell wall in-between them. His every thought had been focused on his ex-lover's words.

"Yes, I lied about my identity. And I gave you only half-truths about my life before meeting you. But every word of affection, for you and Rodrigo, that was real. I know this is a hard ask, but at least believe me in regards to this."

Lance...

Lance felt like he forgot how to breathe.

He... he wants to believe all this. He does. Maybe not forgive the Prince. If that were even possible, it would take a lot of time. 

He would love to believe that the man he shared years of his life with, had wanted to start a family with, was the protagonist of that loving speech. It was just too perfect. Smooth-talking Avo-Loto- _whoever_ could just, say the things that _may_ make this situation okay. That would allow him back into Lance and their son's life. He could no longer blindly trust the man in front of him, just because he looks pretty, talks like a rich person, and they had once planned to spend the rest of their lives together.

"You couldn't of at least given me a heads up?" At Lotor's confused expression, he continued. "About the warmongering empire?"

"In fairness, if I had known you would be a future paladin of the legendary Voltron, I would have indeed given you a, 'heads up'."

"Good to know." said-paladin replied flatly. 

"In all seriousness," Lotor's tone changed once again to a more, severe note. "As I said before, I believed back then that the empire would not show interest in your planet for a long time. And with the state of your technology, your people would never interact with alien beings within _your_ lifetime. It would take even longer for humans to invent suitable weapons to defend themselves with, if they are even given the chance."

Lance shivered at the thought. It was scary enough keeping an eye on Rodrigo while both of them were in space together. There was still the rest of Lance's family back home and the other Paladins' families. It's not like any of them could waltz back into their solar system with the most powerful weapon in the universe. It would put a huge target on Earth's back. Like Lotor said, humans couldn't even dream up some of the stuff the team encounter every week. 

How did Lance look to Lotor back then? Every time he looked up at the stars, with so much hope and wonder. All the while, the rest of the universe was burning while Earth sat there on borrowed time. 

"So it was... what? Mercy?"

"For a lack of a better term, yes."

Lance supposed that was reasonable... in a way. It was still another huge lie/secret part of the already large pile of huge lies/secrets. There was so much to take in, so much to consider. What would he even tell the team-

Oh Quiznack, what is he going to tell the team?

Oh Quiznack, what is he going to tell Rodrigo?!

_Hey Tiger, y'know how I said that your other daddy was a soldier that had to go away on a long mission and that's why you've never met him? Well, turns out he's an alien prince and son of a genocidal dictator. What does 'genocidal dictator' mean? Well..._

Would it be bad if Lance threw up in his helmet?

It probably would be if he did it in front of his ex. Maybe if he dashed into the elevator now, wait until he was high up enough that Lotor couldn't get a good look at him... But that would leave him with vomit in his helmet. Hmm.

Wait, Lotor's been saying something. Quiznack, he might be saying something important! Shut up brain, Lance needs to listen!

"...see Rodrigo."

_Wait, what?_

"Ah, could you repeat that?" Yep, it was definitely something important.

"I said," annoyance flooded Lotor's voice, "how soon can I see my son?"

"Um..." He wants to meet Rodrigo, for the first time in the young boy's memory, while in the cell? The cell he is in because no one is entirely sure if they can trust him. "I don't know if it's a good idea to..."

"You can not be serious?" Lotor gave him an incredulous look. "He is my son, whom I have not seen in decaphoebs."

"It's not that I can't understand why you want to see him," perhaps due to the adrenaline leaving his body, but all the confidence Lance carried with down to the Castle dungeons seems to have disappeared. "I just don't think it's a good idea for you two to meet when no one trusts you."

"No one tru-? Lance! You know me." There was a pleading look in the Prince's eye.

"I think we've just established that I really don't." Now Lance was the one becoming incredulous. "You died and were born again, right? Well, you never let me in on that. I'm so glad I made things so-o-o-o easy for you."

A look of panic came over the other's face, having his own words thrown back at him. 

"Tha-that is not what I-"

As Lotor continued to splutter, the last of Lance's energy left his body. The paladin had been on a non-stop adrenaline rush since the battle began, which continued to worsen with each cruddy thing that happened, hearing Avox's voice being the cherry on the Kaltenecker manure sundae. 

As Lance started walking away, he could at least comfort himself with the knowledge that he succeeded in what he set out to do. Verify the Prince's identity himself. Now he knows that Avox was Lotor and that Lance never knew either of them. 

"Wait!" 

Lotor's voice echoed throughout the chamber. Lance didn't think that would have been possible considering the super-strong glass surrounding the Prince, but he here he was with his ears ringing. 

"Holy crow, what?" Lance was too annoyed, tired, and heartbroken to continue this conversation. If it weren't for the elevator being so far away, Lance would be gone by now. 

"Lance, please, let me _prove_ that you can trust me." Under the thin veneer of professionalism, that was a shadow compared to his earlier charisma, it was clear to anyone with working eyes that Lotor was panicking.

"With your info, right? Look, Shiro and Allura will probably be down soon enough to pump you for information, but I need to-"

"Just pass along a message to the Princess for me." When Lotor paused, Lance realised he was waiting for confirmation and gestured for him to continue. 

"Tell your Princess that she and her steward are not the only Alteans left in the universe. And that I know where the rest are."

**Author's Note:**

> Special thank you for members of the Shotor discord for helping me come up with the name of the Lancelot son, Rodrigo. It was a huge help! (Even if he didn't end up appearing in this fic *sweatdrops*)


End file.
